The Daily Life of a Kazekage
by Shachimin
Summary: My second Naruto Fanficiton. Looking at Gaara's life as the young Kazekage of Sunagakure, with his siblings by his side everyday is bound to be 'eventful'. More Chapters to come! Please R&R [Spoiler Warning: Takes place after chapter 281 of the manga]


**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto; the series is owned and created by Masashi Kishimoto-sensei**

The Kazekage had but a few pleasures in his life, of which he was content with, one of such pleasures was to gaze down at his village and the endless stretch of the desert beyond. A habit he developed from a young age which soon transformed into a routine part of his daily life. The young Kazekage knew the village like the back of his hand, and prided himself on knowing which building, rock or perch to stand on to get the optimum view of the terrain.

However, being the Kazekage; he did not have much time for himself anymore and so could only indulge in this past-time of his at the early hours of the morning or late at night when the village was at its quietest and no counsel meetings were being held. At those moments, a feeling of harmony would settle in his heart. In his younger days this harmony helped all those sleepless nights pass by quickly, it had also helped him still the beast within him when he found himself alone in those godforsaken hours, with only the one tail Biju keeping him company, whispering dark thoughts in his mind.

It must be noted that even after Shukaku's extraction he still could not rid himself of the need to climb on top of a tall building and gaze beyond the horizon to clear his thoughts, particularly at the end of a tiring day. This habit was not lost to those few who were close to him and knew where to find him at such hours.

And on this particular day, one such 'close friend' was already in search of the Kazekage. It was already an hour past dawn and the first meeting of the day was scheduled to begin soon, Baki had come in early to assist his former student in the preparations for said meeting. And as expected, he had found Gaara on the roof of the Kazekage tower, already dressed in his kage robes. Baki approached Gaara slowly, not wanting to intrude on the peaceful sight before him; he kneeled down and cleared his throat in an attempt to catch the young man's attention. Gaara, on the other hand, had already sensed his former mentor's arrival; he turned his head to the side and nodded to Baki, finally acknowledging his presence. Baki took this as encouragement to speak "Kazekage-sama, the meeting will begin shortly. I've come to assist you with the briefing" Gaara fully turned to his former mentor; fixing his gaze on him, he gave another nod "The documents are in my office" he replied. Being a man of few words he then walked towards the door leading to the inside of the tower, with Baki following behind.

The day then proceeded as it usually did, with meeting after meeting and lots of paperwork to read and sign. Unlike most people his age, Gaara spends a lot of his time either with the counsel elders or in his office dealing with a mountain load of documents. His idea of taking a break was to drink tea while looking out his office window. Indeed most young people would rather be out and about, taking on missions, going out with friends on their breaks. But for Gaara, he was most content with his life; all he wanted was to be of some good use to his village, not as a weapon but as a leader. Looking out his office window with a mug of warm tea cradled in both hands a feeling of protectiveness overcame him, and he remembered the promise he made to himself shortly after meeting Uzumaki Naruto; the promise to protect those who were precious to him and gain their acceptance.

Feeling himself revitalised the young Kazekage then proceeded to continue with his paperwork.

However, at that exact moment he heard several loud knocks on his door. He arched a non-existing eyebrow up; those series of random loud knocks could only mean that Kankurou was the one standing behind the door (who insists that this "special knock" has a catchy tune to it).

Gaara took a deep breath in preparation for what was to come. "Enter" he said begrudgingly. And sure enough, in strode Kankurou with his lazy swagger "Yo!" was his greeting as per usual. The puppet user then had the gall to push aside some of Gaara's papers to one side of the desk in order for him to lean on more comfortably.

Kankurou was holding a green apple in his hand, and was taking big chunky bites, not caring that droplets of the apple's juice were splattering all over the papers. Gaara, to say the least, was not pleased.

"So…" Kankurou began "…you've been here all day huh? …working on your papers and hanging out with those old farts" This time, a piece of the apple fell directly into Gaara's tea. Gaara looked down slowly at the offending piece of fruit as it floated in his drink, a vein then popped on his forehead. Kankurou, oblivious to his brother's annoyance, continued.

"Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying you shouldn't be doing paperwork and attending meetings. You are the Kazekage after all…All I'm trying to say is; you need to get laid. Right now, as in pronto" and to emphasise his point he took another big bite from his apple. Gaara raised his head to meet his brother's gaze and glared at him menacingly "Get. Off. My. Desk." He spat the words out threateningly. Not understanding the reason behind his little brother's sudden burst of anger, the puppet user decided to oblige and removed himself from the desk, opting instead to lean on the wall next to Gaara.

The young Kazekage then proceeded to wipe the mess his brother made and salvage whatever documents he could. At this, Kankurou shook his head; much to Gaara's annoyance. "Is there something urgent you want to say to me Kankurou? If not then stop disturbing me. I have work to do". Kankurou flashed Gaara a wide smile, which unnerved the Kazekage.

"Why yes little brother, I have come here to you with a matter of utmost urgency" he said with obvious fake bravado. "You see…my dear little brother…I am here to save you from a horrible frightening enemy!" Gaara stared blankly at his older brother, Kankurou continued "This enemy, is a silent killer, it creeps on you from behind and before you know it, you find yourself ensnared in its grip, It's like a disease that not only plagues the infected, but those around as well…Do you know what they call this disease Gaara?"

Gaara's eyes widened slightly, to the untrained eye it may appear that no change has taken place on the handsome young man's face. But Kankurou knew better, and he could tell that he had his brother's full attention now.

Gaara then shook his head slowly, waiting for his brother to continue, Kankurou was trying hard to suppress a laugh, he leaned towards his brother tossed the remains of his apple in the rubbish bin under the desk and whispered "They call it…BOREDOM" He yelled the last part loudly.

The Kazekage gritted his teeth together, he should have seen this coming; this was Kankurou after all. Gaara was about to order his brother to leave when Kankurou, sensing his brother's reaction, raised his arms before him in a defenceless pose and said "Wait! Let me finish first before you throw me out! I seriously think you need to get some groove in your life" Gaara raised his non-existing eyebrow (again!) "…Groove?" the word sounded alien to his ears, Gaara shook his head as if to rid himself of this 'Kankurou' effect. "Uh ok…Let me rephrase that then, I am truly concerned that you may be overworking yourself. And as your older brother, I feel that it is my duty to take you by the hand and help you unwind for a change" Kankurou nodded, finally satisfied with the explanation he gave and feeling confident that his brother would agree.

"Get out" Gaara spoke the command while reading one of his scrolls. The puppet user had his jaw hanging low in utter shock; Gaara spared his brother a brief glance "Now" he said. Kankurou then slammed his hand on the desk in anger "Come on!! Gaara!! This is for your own good! I am doing this for you, not for me"

Gaara took a deep breath and sighed loudly, it seemed his brother was more persistent today than usual, he put his scroll down and gave the puppet user his full attention "I am not overworking myself as you seem to think, I was just taking a break before you burst into my office" He then gestured toward his tea. Kankurou looked at the tea mug sceptically then back at his brother

"Uhuh" Kankurou then closed his eyes in contemplation while scratching the back of his head; he glanced at his brother again through one eye and said "So this is your idea of a break? Drinking tea…and in your office no less? I'd be a bit more forgiving if you'd drink tea in a tea shop or bench or somewhere. Anywhere BUT here" he pointed to the ground and continued "'Why' you ask? Well, because the purpose of a break is to escape the working environment." Gaara sat back in his chair and crossed hi arms; his older brother was being quite bold today. "So…No, Gaara you weren't taking a break; you were just sitting in your office like you always do!"

Gaara uncrossed his arms and leaned forwards on the desk whilst resting his chin on both hands. "And what do you propose I do Kankurou? Laze around like yourself?" The puppet user decided to ignore the insult and rested both palms on the desk while leaning towards Gaara. The brothers were now facing each other, nose to nose; Gaara with an exasperated expression and Kankurou with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Come out with me tonight, we'll have a blast. Let Temari finish your work".

"Kankurou!! Stop disturbing Gaara you little grunt!" The two brothers glanced towards the source of the voice to find non other than their sister Temari standing at the threshold of Gaara's office with both hands on each side of her hip, a vexed expression on her face and a foot tapping impatiently at the floor.

Kankurou cleared his throat, and glared at his little brother "You saw her coming didn't you?" Gaara closed his eyes, contemplating the question "A Shinobi must always be aware of his surroundings, you lack training Kankurou". The puppet user huffed indignantly and crossed his arms.

Temari walked towards the large desk with a small wrapped box she procured from her bag. She placed the small box right in front of Gaara with a beaming smile "I knew you'd still be working here, so I brought over a little snack for you" Kankurou eyed the package warily and asked "What kind of snack? Is it store bought? Don't tell me you…ouffff!!" Kankurou doubled over from the pain in his stomach, his sister had mercilessly delivered a swift punch before he could even finish his question. "I already know what you think of my cooking Kankurou! That's why I didn't even bother to make any for you!" Temari turned her attention back to her youngest brother while doing a complete 180 degree change in demeanour; she smiled brightly whilst proceeding to un-wrap the box then lifted the top lid revealing rows of neatly aligned Onigiri each sprinkled with different Furikake flavours (_i.e.__ Rice balls mixed with dry Japanese condiment._ _Typically consists of a mixture of dried and ground fish, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar and salt, often brightly coloured and flaky. from Wikipedia))_

Kankurou stole a peek from over his sister's shoulders then immediately began faking gagging noises. Temari clenched her fist tightly and then unclenched, repeating the action several times in an attempt to calm herself, she then let out an exasperated sigh and focused on Gaara, deciding to ignore her other sibling, "Let me refill your tea mug for you, I'll be right back" and with that Temari turned around to find Kankurou still gagging and twitching. However, one stern look from his older sister brought his act to an abrupt stop as she stomped out of the office with Gaara's tea mug and a promise to return.

Once Temari was gone and Kankurou was sure to hear her retreating footsteps, the duo proceeded to inspect the contents of the box closely. Temari was a very skilled Shinobi. She excelled in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and had keen analytical skills. What Temari did not posses were cooking skills. The woman could not be accused of not trying; she tried and strived, much to Kankurou's grief, but in the end; she was fighting a losing battle.

"Well she really outdid herself this time, the stuff actually looks edible" said Kankurou, as he unceremoniously poked one Onigiri with his fore finger. Gaara plucked one from the box and took a test bite. Kankurou stared at Gaara's impassive face, waiting for some sort of reaction. But the young Kazekage proceeded to calmly nibble at the food.

"Well! Don't leave me hanging in suspense. Is it any good?"

Gaara crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes in thought (Classic Gaara pose) "It's sticky and moist" he stated in a matter of fact tone. Kankurou blanched at the thought of eating sticky, moist rice. "She must have boiled the rice with too much water" Said the young Kazekage. "Figures" replied Kankurou.

"So anyways about tonight…"

"No."

Kankurou raised his arms in exasperation "Why not?!" he asked.

"…Because there are some documents that require my attention. And only mine" He said before Kankurou could cut him off. Kankurou then sighed in defeat. "All right All right, you win this time! But remember; tomorrow night! We're going out. Whether you like it or not" And with that said Kankurou finally exited the office, leaving Gaara to return to his work. Tomorrow he and Gaara will hit the town. Bro style!

_Fin._

_Author's Note:_

_Hello everyone! This is my second Naruto Fanfic. I plan on making this story into several chapters about the daily life of our favourite red head If you enjoyed this chapter then please stay tuned for more! Coming Soon!_


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